News Archive - 26 July 2011

> * Winners get a golden My Little Pony figurine * Nominees include WikiLeaks, Sony, RSA Security By Jim Finkle BOSTON, July 26 (Reuters) - The computer hacking community is gearing up for its own version of the annual Oscars, with two notorious "hacktivist" groups and industry heavyweight WikiLeaks among...

> * High risk Iran may miscalculate U.S. resolve-Dempsey By Phil Stewart and David Alexander WASHINGTON, July 26 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's pick to become the top U.S. military officer warned Iran not to underestimate U.S. resolve in responding to attacks on U.S. forces in...

> "The effort in resolving payment issue with Iran is under progress. We are confident that an all-acceptable solution will be found shortly," MRPL, which is Iran's top Indian client, said in a statement. Since December, India and Iran have struggled to find ways for New Delhi to pay for...

>NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Top exporter Saudi Arabia has struck deals to sell 3 million barrels more oil to India in August, stepping into the vacuum created by regional rival Iran after it cut supply to New Delhi. The sale could stoke simmering tension between Riyadh and Tehran over oil...

> INTERNATIONAL/REGIONAL * Oil falls as U.S. debt crisis drags on; stocks gain unexpectedly * Dollar falls, gold rises with no US debt progress * Delay in debt plan vote stokes U.S. uncertainty * COLUMN-Flight from dollar could push yen to record UNITED ARAB EMIRATES * Dubai's Mashreq...

WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Turner warned Tuesday that it is a “misguided policy" for the Obama administration to consider deeper cuts in the nation’s nuclear arsenal at a time when Iran and North Korea continue to pursue nuclear weapons.In a speech at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Turner,...

PESHAWAR, July 26: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain believes that the United States will never succeed in restoring peace in Afghanistan by holding negotiations just with specific groups of Taliban.

MOSCOW -- The Obama administration has disclosed one of its sharpest policy responses to Russian human rights abuses, telling American lawmakers that dozens of Russian officials have been quietly barred from the United States over their involvement in the detention and death two years ago of a Russian lawyer fighting...

New Delhi, Jul 26 : Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL), a subsidiary of ONGC, today reported over five-fold rise in its net profit which stood at Rs 173 crore during the first quarter of the current financial year, mainly on account of improved refining margin.

Tehran, July 25 (KCNA) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently called on regional countries not to be deceived by the United States and Israel.

Talk about famous last words.

The 2012 election amounts to a showdown between the big government ideas of President Barack Obama and individual liberties cherished by conservatives, in the opinion of former U.S. Sen. Rick Santoru.

The value of trade between Iran and Turkey is expected to surpass 15 billion dollars this year, says Iran's Ambassador to Ankara Bahman Hosseinpour.

“The Azerbaijani authorities tell fairy tales, when they say that because of Iran’s position, they can not cancel the visa regime with Turkey,” – said correspondent July 20 BakuToday head of “Euro-Atlantic Council” (Baku) Sulhaddin Akbar.

Lamisil cream without a prescription , Two Star Valley students, Tiffany Nethercott and Matt Ashton, recently had the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C. and represent the state of Wyoming at the Hugh O'Brian Youth (HOBY) World Leadership Congress.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration has imposed travel restrictions on 60 Russian officials suspected of involvement in the imprisonment and killing of a lawyer.

Despite the increase in volume and sophistication of cyber-attacks and, government officials testified before a U.S. House Subcommittee that the country has been slow to beef up IT security.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The nominee to be the next chief of the US military pledged to guide the armed forces through a new era while sending a tough warning to Iran not to pursue nuclear weapons or sponsor attacks in Iraq.

In Chuvashia, which is June 24 celebrates the national holiday – Republic Day, still attracts visitors. True, this year, unlike past years, especially the region do not have to flaunt numerous calls and guests well-known names: the list of VIP guests was still modest, the correspondent BakuToday .

With continental powerhouses Saudi Arabia and Iran virtually assured of advancing to the next stage of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, much of the second-round drama is expected to center on Southeast Asia this week. Of the fifteen second-round matches played last weekend, the few that remain finely balanced...

>Here are key dates in gold's trading history since the early 1970s:* August 1971 - U.S. President Richard Nixon takes the dollar off the gold standard, which had been in place with minor modifications since the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 fixed the conversion rate for one troy ounce...

MANILA, July 27 (PNA) -- The Philippines is seeking to develop economic, media and cultural relations with Iran to strengthen efforts to expand bilateral cooperation, particularly in the economic field through exports of bananas.

Lulz Security, Anonymous and WikiLeaks are among those vying for the top award.

The United States waged a secret diplomatic campaign in the 1970s to prevent Pakistan from developing nuclear weapons by pressing countries to control exports, declassified documents said.

BakuToday: Turkey is preparing to soon suspend the supply of Azeri gas to Greece. As a senior representative of the Ministry of Energy of Turkey, 750 million cubic meters of gas for export to Greece, Turkey will be used for personal needs.

A new 'made in Africa' tablet computer from the Republic of Congo was announced in June 2011 to much fanfare. While technical innovation in Africa is worth celebrating, it's worth double-checking whether the new VMK tablet is actually designed, developed ...

Venezuela's foreign minister is criticizing U.S. conservatives for what he calls "extremist" stances against President Hugo Chavez's government.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that Iran is stepping up its enrichment efforts, and that the man in charge is Fereydoon Abbasi, who narrowly escaped assassination along with his wife eight months ago . One may safely assume that he is more highly motivated than ever, which raises ...

Venezuela's foreign minister on Tuesday criticized U.S. conservatives for what he called "extremist" stances against President Hugo Chavez's government.

GRAND RAPIDS - Cyber Styletto is a new novella by a journalist, a writer, and a security expert who have pooled their talents to create an enthralling good read that is future forward and predictive. The facts are based on real vulnerabilities in the way the Internet is constructed.

Omar Toure helped launch "Y’en a Marre," slang for "Enough is Enough," a movement led by young rappers that encourages young people to register for the elections. read more

. The investment climate in Turkmenistan, according to experts, is invariably poor with a tendency to deteriorate.

Does Rice think it's none of America's business if the UN recognizes a government that includes Hezbollah? Does Rice believe the UN should take up other statehood issues? Her silence confuses our allies and sends the wrong signals to the UN.

Jacob Dayan reflects on his four years as Israel’s consul general in L.A.

Tough fiscal choices needed now

Code samples raise concerns of variants Officials with the US Department of Homeland Security warned that hackers could attack the country's power generation plants, water treatment facilities, and other critical infrastructure with clones of the Stuxnet computer worm, which was used to disrupt Iran's nuclear-enrichment operations.…

Lawmaker quits to move to executive post By David Montero The Salt Lake Tribune Published Jul 26, 2011 06:04PM MDT Gov. Gary Herbert on Tuesday named Rep. Julie Fisher to head up the Utah Department of Community and Culture as the state agency continues its major restructuring in the wake...

Representative Fisher resigns to move to executive post By David Montero The Salt Lake Tribune Published Jul 26, 2011 06:04PM MDT Gov. Gary Herbert on Tuesday named Rep. Julie Fisher to head up the Utah Department of Community and Culture as the state agency continues its major restructuring in the...

Family, friends, and supporters of Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal, the Berkeley graduates who have been detained in an Iranian prison for nearly two years, are organizing a week of action leading up to the men's July 31 trial date.

Sunday's refusal by an Iranian swimmer to compete against Israeli Gal Nevo is the latest in a list of similar snubs.

The Obama administration placed visa bans on dozens of Russian officials involved in the 2009 detention and death of Sergei L. Magnitsky, a lawyer who fought an enormous corruption case.

Sunday's refusal by an Iranian swimmer to compete against Israeli Gal Nevo is the latest in a list of similar snubs.

SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD Lili spent two months in prison after a raid on the restaurant where she illegally works 12-hour shifts washing dishes to support her family.

Western security agencies were most likely behind the killing of an Iranian scientist in an operation that underlines the myriad complications in the conflict over Iran's

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards continued their offensive against rebels from the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), killing an unknown number of fighters, the Guards ground forces said Tuesday.

Western security agencies were most likely behind the killing of an Iranian scientist in an operation that underlines the myriad complications in the conflict over Iran’s nuclear program, analysts say.

Nasser al-Wahishi of AQAP embraces bin Laden successor.By MATTHEW COLE and RYM MOMTAZ

Lebanese Forces head Samir Geagea slammed the government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati saying it brought back Lebanon to the dark years.

On a park bench outside the Jamaat-e Ahle mosque in eastern Oslo, Abdul Obeidi basks in the sunlight, enjoying a rare break under the clouds that have settled across the Norwegian capital.

At least 50 prisoners have been freed. The amnesties ordered by Prime Minister Nouri Maliki have angered some senior Iraqi officials, who say the law is being bent to fit a hidden political agenda. In an illustration of its growing muscle in Iraq as U.S. influence wanes, anti-American cleric...

THERE are many ways to travel across a continent, but doing it at 20km/h in an old MG would not be most people's preferred route.

  “I feel every minute of freedom here or in Spain,” said Golsana Heshmati , a lighting designer born and raised in Tehran, Iran. Golsana Heshmati recently moved from Spain to Berkeley to join her boyfriend and family in the United States and is already starting to make her mark...

One year after the discovery of a sophisticated worm that was used to attack centrifuges in Iran’s nuclear program, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security told Congress it fears the same attack could now be used against critical infrastructures in the U.S. DHS “is concerned that attackers could...

A look at the 14 films that will be screen in North America for the first time at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival

The Kurdish National Congress of North America (KNC-NAL) organized a seminar on July 23, 2011 in Irvine, CA titled: Hope, Trauma, and Resilience, the Case of Rojhallat of Kurdistan.

SAN BERNARDINO - Iran Estrada won't have to drive a mile and a half from her home anymore to get gasoline - a shiny new Arco is now practically in her yard.

Three people were charged by federal prosecutors in New York with conspiring to sell heroin and buy weapons for Hezbollah, while a fourth separately was accused of scheming to sell drugs and guns for the Taliban.

The nominee to be the next chief of the US military on Tuesday warned Iran not to pursue nuclear weapons or sponsor attacks in Iraq, saying it would be making a "serious miscalculation."

Featuring a slick interface and that gives users the novel ability to follow hot particular topics and categories, SkyGrid is a solid, topic-based iPad newsreading app. Streamlining the interface a bit would do wonders to create a more natural reading experience.

NEW YORK, July 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- To help set the stage for one of the world's most prestigious human rights events—presented by literary and human rights organization PEN American Center—GlobalWorks Group was selected to create a documentary on Nasrin Sotoudeh, a writer, lawyer an

Vodafone Qatar has extended its World Calling Club and International Calling Card 25 offers to August 31. World Calling Club lets customers call more than 140 countries for just 65 Dirhams a minute.

A nightingale's call competing with the clamour of traffic or the singsong shout of the vegetable seller, these are the sounds Canadian writer Anosh Irani recollects from Bombay, India, the city of his youth.

CUERNAVACA, Mexico, July 26 (UPI) -- Edgar Jimenez Lugo, 15, was sentenced to three years in juvenile detention in Mexico Tuesday for beheading four men on the orders of a drug cartel.

Three British soldiers were murdered by an Afghan colleague weeks after a row over a water bottle led to the vandalism of a Gurkha religious shrine, an inquest has heard.

Six Iranian athletes will compete in the IAAF World Championships which take place in Daegu, South Korea. In men’s hammer throw, Kaveh Mousavi and Amin Nikfar will participate in the competitions.

Law enforcement may be interested to see if anyone actually shows up to this year to accept the annual Pwnie Award for Epic Ownage at Black Hat, since all the nominees face possible criminal charges.

The leader of Lebanon's Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group on Tuesday warned Israel against trying to steal Lebanon's maritime resources and said it would retaliate against any Israeli attack on the country's oil and gas installations.

The nominee to be the next chief of the US military on Tuesday warned Iran not to pursue nuclear weapons or sponsor proxies in Iraq, saying it would be making a "serious miscalculation."

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski began a six-day tour of the South Caucasus on July 25 that will take him to Azerbaijan from July 25 to 26, Georgia from July 26 to 27 and Armenia from July 27 to 29. The tour is meant to advance the European Union’s Eastern Partnership...

Jacque Bland Features Editor The first female secretary of state celebrated the diplomatic power of femininity and fashion with a book party and fashion show at Neiman Marcus in Friendship Heights. Madeleine Albright’s new book, “Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat’s Jewel Box,” shares the story of the lapel...

President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov approved agreement by its decision to establish a new international transport corridor Uzbekistan – Turkmenistan – Iran – Oman – Qatar. BelTA BakuToday source in the governmental circles of the republic.

Islamic Republic of Iran has gained remarkable progress in the fields of energy transactions with other countries.

It's hard to criticize Bill O'Reilly for using coded language, because I do actually think he believes what he's saying. I don't think, as I do with some on the left and on the right, that he is using common-sense-sounding language to try and trick people. But the way O'Reilly...

Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) killed 35 members of the Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan (PJAK) during a clash with the "terrorist" group in the country's northwest, local English language satellite Press TV reported on Tuesday.

Venezuela's energy minister said Tuesday that OPEC shouldn't intervene to lower oil prices, which he said will come down only if military actions such as NATO airstrikes in Libya cease.

The Toronto International Film Festival, which has become an increasingly important platform for awards-seeking titles in recent years (Both The King’s Speech and Black Swan played there last year), announced its 2011 line-up this morning. The 11-day festival, set to kick off on Sept. 8, will feature the world premieres...

Saudi Arabia has agreed to sell three million barrels of extra crude oil to India to make up for a possible supply cut by Iran over billions of dollars in unpaid bills, a report said Tuesday.

It was the worst of times and the best of times when the Olympics came to Los Angeles in the summer of 1984. I remember it well. No one could have predicted how it would all turn out, and the early warnings were dire. Some even said the Olympics were...

KARIN LAUB Associated Press CAIRO One of Egypt's ruling generals took great pains this week to reassure his American audience: the military-led caretaker government has no intention of mending ties with Iran, a longtime foe and regional rival. But once an elected government takes over from Egypt's interim rulers in...

>Here are some details on scientists in Iran and events linked to them over the last two years:June 2009:-- Shahram Amiri said he was kidnapped in June 2009 when on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia and transferred to the United States. He said he was offered $50 million to remain...

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>Jul (Reuters) - Western security agencies were most likely behind the killing of an Iranian scientist in an operation that underlines the myriad complications in the conflict over Iran's nuclear program, analysts say. Darioush Rezaie, 35, a university lecturer, was shot dead by gunmen in eastern Tehran Saturday, the third...

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak was on Tuesday to fly to Washington where he would meet top US officials, including new US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta, his office said.

NFL player representatives unanimously agreed to a new 10-year contract with club owners on Monday, ensuring the 2011 season will start as planned after the league's longest shutdown. ''Football is back and that's great news,'' NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said. ''It has been a long time coming.'' Player representatives...

TEHRAN, July 26 (MNA) – Venezuela’s National Assembly Speaker, Fernando Soto Rojas, has said Iran’s revolution and its resistance against global arrogance is a model for other countries.

TEHRAN, July 26 (MNA) -- A delegation of Egyptian cineastes will travel to Tehran in the coming days to exchange views with their Iranian counterparts.

TEHRAN, July 26 (MNA) – Iran is currently exporting 800 megawatts of electricity to Iraq per year and will raise the exports to 1,250 megawatts by the next summer, Iranian Energy Minister Majid Namjou said.

TEHRAN, July 26 (MNA) – Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Iran hit a new record in 2010 and surpassed 3.6 billion dollars despite sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported.

Lili, 16, spent two months in prison after a raid on the restaurant where she illegally works 12-hour shifts washing dishes to support her family.

TEHRAN, July 26 (MNA) -- Friends and fans of the admired actor and poet Hossein Panahi, mostly remembered for his idiosyncratic method of acting, commemorated his death anniversary at the Niavaran Cultural Center.

TEHRAN, July 26 (MNA) -- The Film Museum of Iran (FMI) has dedicated a pavilion to filmmaker Khosrow Sinaii where he is displaying his awards and memorabilia.

TEHRAN, July 26 (MNA) -- A novel entitled “Hafez Seven”, which describes the journey of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei to Fars Province in 2009, was unveiled during a ceremony held in Shiraz on Sunday.

Iran plans to produce gasoline form natural gas by using the GTL (gas to liquids) method, announced deputy minister of industry and mines.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- America's new top diplomat in Afghanistan sought Monday to allay the fears of the Afghan people who worry the U.

Tehran, July 25, IRNA - Iraq's Electricity Minister said here Monday Tehran-Baghdad relations on electricity field is at best level now and our efforts are aimed at connecting the two countries' electricity networks within the next three years' time.

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia and Australia sealed a pact Monday to swap refugees in a contentious new strategy aimed at deterring asylum seekers from undertaking perilous boat journeys to Australia.

Promoting the capital market and using Islamic financing mechanisms are the top priority of the government, said minister of economic affairs and finance.

Iraqi jihadists have strongly backed protests against President Bashar Assad even though his regime purportedly aided the militants by allowing arms and fighters to cross into Iraq.

KABUL, Afghanistan - The new U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan took the oath of office Monday, saying in a succinct but personal speech that the United States would start to pull back from its engagement here - but only gradually.

Three Indonesian cities have held exhibitions of photographs taken by Jasem Ghazbanpour, which introduce the Persian-Islamic architecture of Iranian mosques.